4 comments:

Vox is worried too:http://www.vox.com/2015/3/31/8319065/trevor-noah-twitter-offensive-jokes The line between funny and offensive is thin. Trevor Noah is on the wrong side.------In these tweets, Noah is consistently shaming three groups of people: Jews, women, and LGBT people."

...these jokes are offensive because they are reflections of cultures that are oppressive and privileged — and rather than being critical of those societal constructions, the jokes instead reinforce them. The jokes imply that it is acceptable — funny, even — to belittle gay, heavy, or Jewish people.

But here's what makes Noah's situation different: his new platform as the host of The Daily Show. He's not a standup comedian anymore. He's about to step into a job that discusses high-profile political and social issues. Noah needs to be trusted to be able to do that in a way that is smart and fair and certainly not bigoted. As Jamie Weinstein wrote for the Daily Caller, "Many young people don't watch ‘The Daily Show' just to laugh — they watch the show to get their news. The show shapes perceptions."----------